“The Mandalorian” and who? Looking beyond the numbers — because, yes, the new “Star Wars” movie was crowned king of the Memorial Day box office — the movies dominating theaters and conversation right now aren’t the ones with Lucasfilm and Disney+ IP. Instead, two new original horror films from directors in their twenties are ruling the discourse, and scaring up serious business. We dive into these new movies on the latest episode of IndieWire’s “Screen Talk” podcast.
Focus Features plopped down $15 million for its first earnestly Gen Z horror movie, “Obsession,” out of the Toronto Film Festival in fall 2025. The careful-what-you-wish-for possession romance is directed by 26-year-old Curry Barker, who already reportedly has a reported eight-figure offer on his next film — even though he was already slated to reboot “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre” for A24.
Plus, “Obsession” actually improved at the box office by nearly 40 percent in its second weekend. Absolutely rare, and absolutely unheard of for a horror title.
Meanwhile, at A24, 20-year-old Kane Parsons has turned his YouTube series “Backrooms” into a new surreal horror film starring Chiwetel Ejiofor and Renate Reinsve. Reviews have been strong — as they were for “Obsession” — for Parsons’ liminal space horror movie, for which he’s already planning follow-ups. He’s about to be in as high demand as Barker, as “Backrooms” already stirred up $10 million in Thursday previews alone and is looking at an at least $60 million opening.
While we have to truly wait and see how “Backrooms” does and how audiences receive it, why do we think “Obsession” is on such a roll? Part of that has to do with the movie’s storyline, in which the lead actress Inde Navarrette (people are calling for an Oscar nomination, but here is a character with no agency, in a movie that doesn’t have the same Academy juice as “Weapons” or “The Substance”) plays a woman who’s essentially completely subjugated by her captor — sorry, boyfriend — due to the curse he’s set upon her. He’s using her body for sex and ignoring, up to a point, the visible anguish writhing beneath her possessed placid demeanor. Is the movie’s incel-like fantasy what’s powering the film? We debate this, but it sure seems like.
Elsewhere on the podcast, we also wrap up the Cannes Film Festival and take a look at which of the winners out of last weekend’s Palme d’Or ceremony are most likely to make their way to the Oscars. We talk about “Fjord,” “The Black Ball,” “All of a Sudden” (unlikely to have the same momentum as director Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s last nominated film, “Drive My Car”), and potentially “The Man I Love,” which is still looking for a buyer.
Movies like “Coward” and “All of a Sudden” will almost certainly represent their respective countries at the Academy Awards; much of Palme winner “Fjord” is in English, but we’re told that so far it will still be eligible for the International Feature Oscar.
While Ryan has candidly not seen “The Mandalorian and Grogu,” Anne reviews the film, as well as the hit “The Sheep Detectives.” Post-Cannes, Ryan caught up with the horror movies instead.
Listen to this week’s episode below or on your preferred podcast platform.
